Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 100

The Coincidence That Created Fate (1)

“Ah, I’m full.”

He should have been carefully nourishing his body with measured meals, but he had been far too hungry. Yeon Ji-Pyeong had eaten five servings in one sitting for the first time in his life.

His stomach was bulging as a result. Still, he didn’t dislike this feeling of fullness.

Leaving the dining hall, Yeon Ji-Pyeong suddenly turned his head.

‘Huh?’

Yeon Ji-Pyeong blinked.

‘Who is that?’

He had been walking aimlessly, and before he knew it, he had reached the vicinity of his brother’s residence.

And yet, next to his brother’s residence, within the Yeonryeo Garden, someone was chopping firewood.

The person’s appearance was unfamiliar. Curiosity piqued, Yeon Ji-Pyeong slowly approached the Yeonryeo Garden.

Thwack!

With a smooth swing of the axe, a large piece of firewood split in half.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face, which had been full of curiosity, now showed surprise.

‘Gasp!’

Thwack!

Another piece of firewood split.

It was nothing special, just an axe swing. It wasn’t a forceful chop, and it was even done with one hand instead of two.

Yet, with a smooth arc of the axe, the firewood split cleanly. The energy imbued in the blunt axe blade was bringing its sharpness to life.

What was surprising was the quality of the energy contained in the axe and the movement of the axe itself.

Even though it was a tiny amount, an intense force like a flood was being emitted. The form of the swing seemed unremarkable, yet it was incredibly beautiful.

‘A master!’

Amazing. At least, at Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s current level, it was a level he couldn’t dare to face.

Tick!

‘Huh?’

The axe missed its mark. The piece of firewood that had been struck flew off and landed far away.

A complicated look crossed the woman, Muk Bi’s, face.

“Um….”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong, realizing his mistake, stood up.

“I’m sorry. I was just staring blankly without realizing it. I was rude, wasn’t I?”

He apologized honestly.

Muk Bi didn’t know why the other person was apologizing. She was just curious why he was watching her chop firewood as if it were such a big deal.

“No, it’s okay. But….”

Muk Bi paused, about to ask who he was.

After all, she was a guest. Anyone she didn’t know was highly likely to be a member of the Yeon family.

Muk Bi bowed her head.

“I am Muk Bi.”

“Ah, yes! I’m Yeon Ji-Pyeong! Nice to meet you!”

A moment of silence passed.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong blinked, and Muk Bi awkwardly avoided his gaze.

Meanwhile, Muk Bi thought,

‘Yeon Ji-Pyeong? Then, is he that person’s younger brother?’

She had heard a lot about Yeon Ji-Pyeong on her way here. He was said to be a rare genius, though young, and also to have a gentle personality.

Muk Bi looked at Yeon Ji-Pyeong again.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face, looking at her with sparkling eyes, did indeed seem as gentle as she had heard.

Muk Bi cleared her throat.

“Um, so, I am….”

“You’re a guest!”

“Huh?”

“Oh, am I wrong?”

Muk Bi scratched her head.

She was indeed a guest. However, Yeon Ho-Jeong and Yeon-Wi had told her to treat this place like her own home and everyone as family.

“A guest… in a way? I guess….”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Muk Bi thought of a way to cut off this awkward and clearly dragging conversation.

That was to mention Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“I came here with Yeon Ho-Jeong, that person.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s eyes widened.

“Y-you mean, my brother is here?”

“Yes? Ah… yes, that’s right.”

“Gasp! I didn’t even know! I thought he would come later, but he’s here so soon?!”

Joy appeared on Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face.

But only for a moment.

“Oh? But….”

That person?

The choice of words was strange. That person, that person….

“Cough!”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong rushed over and grabbed Muk Bi’s hands.

It was so sudden that she couldn’t even avoid it. Muk Bi looked down at Yeon Ji-Pyeong with a bewildered expression.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong said with a serious face,

“Sister-in-law!”

Muk Bi thought that deciding which was more shocking, her vow to annihilate Gwanil Valley or this moment, was a difficult task.

* * *

Clang!

It was a heavy axe weighing eighty pounds, boasting a steel-like attack power, and it was imbued with the White Tiger Qi [a type of internal energy associated with the White Tiger, one of the Four Symbols in East Asian cosmology].

The Wall of Azure Qi [another type of internal energy] harmonized the body’s strength and flexibility, and the muscles, which were being trained even at this moment, created explosive power and strong endurance.

And yet, he was pushed back.

Clang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body was thrown backward.

The sword Yeon-Wi was holding was an ordinary longsword. The power emanating from that sword was as mighty as a tidal wave. The sword blade, which weighed less than a tenth of Yeon Ho-Jeong’s axe, was creating a sense of weight of a thousand pounds.

Bang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been pushed back, charged in again.

From the moment he unleashed the White Tiger Overlord Steps [a martial arts footwork technique], he was in a complete battle-ready stance. He fearlessly deployed his martial arts with the determination of one step forward, two steps to kill.

Swish, swish, swish!

It was as if intangible flames were burning around the swinging axe.

It was fast despite wielding a heavy weapon, and at the same time, it was a strike that maximized the advantages of a heavy weapon. It was a destructive force that even any top-tier master would hesitate to face head-on.

Yeon-Wi’s sword drew a straight line.

Clang!

The muscles in his upper arm and shoulder twitched.

Yeon-Wi couldn’t help but be amazed by his son’s monstrous strength.

‘Where does this power come from?’

It was a martial art that rivaled the top of the Seven Great Families, or rather, the Six Great Families. Moreover, he wasn’t suppressing his skills as he used to. Even if it wasn’t his full power, he was sincerely using his martial arts.

If such a strike could unconsciously tighten the muscles of a top-tier master, it could be considered a force that would be effective anywhere in the Central Plains [a term referring to the heartland of China, often used in martial arts novels as a setting].

Chiring!

The sword that had collided with the axe drew a smooth movement for a moment.

‘…!’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression changed.

Like a snake, the sword blade slid down the axe blade and flowed along the shaft, aiming for his wrist. The movement was so natural and smooth that he had momentarily lost sight of it.

Whack!

He released his hands from the shaft and kicked the end of the shaft.

Clang, clang, clang!

The axe was launched at close range. Yeon-Wi’s sword struck the axe blade with twelve consecutive strikes in an instant, reducing its power.

Thud!

Yeon-Wi’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t looked up, but he realized that his son had moved into the air above his head.

‘Fast!’

The fire energy pouring down from above was tremendous.

The white metal energy had changed to red fire energy. The time it took to switch from the White Tiger Art to the Vermilion Bird Art [another of the Four Symbols, associated with fire] was as fast as lightning.

And that wasn’t all.

“Hap!”

It was an unusual shout. He had red wings on both legs, and his right fist was filled with a white storm as he struck down.

It was the Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts [a martial arts style based on the Four Symbols], simultaneously manifesting two attributes of martial arts.

Wham!

The fist pierced through the training ground floor, and the destructive power of the fist created cracks throughout the entire training ground.

It was a powerful fist technique, a power that exceeded imagination. It was the Tiger King Nine Thunderous Strikes of the White Tiger Art, implemented in the form of a fist.

Whack!

Yeon-Wi, who had evaded with the Heavenly Net Steps [a footwork technique], approached with the technique of the Bowing Body Shadow Strike [a close-quarters combat technique].

‘…!’

It was an incredible speed. It was as fast as the Vermilion Bird Art’s Blood Wing Soaring Sky [a high-speed movement technique].

It wasn’t that Yeon-Wi had learned a footwork as fast as the Blood Wing Soaring Sky. It was simply due to the pure mastery of martial arts. His internal energy, body, and enlightenment combined to allow him to achieve such speed with a simple step.

Flash!

Yeon Ho-Jeong avoided Yeon-Wi, grabbed the axe that had fallen to his left, and straightened his posture.

Yeon-Wi, who had changed direction in an instant, had already reached a point one jhang [a traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.3 meters] in front of Yeon Ho-Jeong.

The two men’s weapons unleashed divine speeds.

Clang, clang, clang, clang! Cling, cling, cling!

The weapons collided eighteen times in a single breath.

Yeon-Wi’s sword speed was beyond words, but Yeon Ho-Jeong’s axe speed was also beyond human limits. Among the martial artists who wielded heavy weapons, it would be hard to find someone who could show such a fast attack.

‘Strong.’

Yeon-Wi could finally feel the level his son had reached, which was several steps higher than before he had left home.

‘He’s become incredibly strong!’

Internal energies of unknown origin were with Yeon Ho-Jeong.

But that wasn’t important. It was clear that his son hadn’t grown by learning other martial arts, but rather, he had learned them after he had already grown to complement himself.

In other words, his son’s enlightenment was already complete enough to accommodate various martial arts. No, perhaps it was even more than that.

The exquisite nature of the techniques felt through the weapons, and the noble martial principles felt in his adaptability, made it impossible to even imagine where his limits were.

‘How on earth?!’

Even Yeon Ji-Pyeong, who was said to be a rare genius, might not be able to do this. He had broken through ten or twenty years of other people’s time in just a few months.

While Yeon-Wi was astonished by his son’s incredible growth, Yeon Ho-Jeong was also newly surprised by his father’s steel-like martial arts.

‘He’s stronger than Myeong Cheon!’

He was now a public enemy of the martial world, but originally, the Guju Myeong Family was a martial family that had maintained its reputation as the best in the world for a hundred years.

He was stronger than the head of such a family. He had learned a fake Four Divine Beasts Martial Arts, so the balance of his martial arts might have been disrupted, but even considering that, his father’s martial arts surpassed Myeong Cheon.

‘Amazing. There are so many things I don’t have…!’

The sword power of his father, who was sincerely deploying his martial arts.

Although it was difficult to compare to his own time as the Dark Emperor, it contained the enlightenment of an ideal martial artist who had accumulated many parts that even he had missed. It was perfect. It was complete.

He had felt it before, but his father’s martial arts were the culmination of the White Path martial arts, with nothing to add or subtract. It was a level of martial arts that Yeon Ho-Jeong would find difficult to grasp even after decades.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

At some point, Yeon Ho-Jeong pushed Yeon-Wi back.

The White Tiger Overlord Steps gained power as it gained momentum. With powerful consecutive kicks, the Tiger King Nine Thunderous Strikes, the fangs of the beast became larger and sharper, and even more ferocious.

Yeon-Wi received Yeon Ho-Jeong’s martial arts with the exquisite sword principles of the Iron Sword Great Evolution [a sword technique].

‘Yes, at this level.’

The pressure of the fighting spirit pouring in was greater than the martial arts he was implementing. There was the killing intent of a warrior who swept away enemies with overwhelming momentum, and the dignity of a general.

‘At this level, he will be able to receive this sword.’

In an instant, Yeon-Wi’s eyes flashed.

Clang!

The axe lost its way against the terrifyingly powerful sword.

With a single sword strike, the White Tiger Overlord Steps lost its momentum, and the fangs of the Tiger King Nine Thunderous Strikes were cut off. It was an incredible sword power.

But that wasn’t the end. A powerful true energy gathered at the tip of Yeon-Wi’s sword in an instant.

It was at that moment.

Whoosh!

Yeon-Wi saw a huge hand that was darkening his vision.

The writhing change of the technique that was approaching was like seeing a dragon. And yet, it was fast. It was an attack that he could block, but not avoid.

Surprise appeared on Yeon-Wi’s face.

‘The Reverse Dragon Palm!!’

A powerful force was felt in the palm strike that was extended without even a half breath. It was a high-speed attack that utilized powerful cardiopulmonary function.

There was no time to show the sword of his newly gained enlightenment. Yeon-Wi quickly switched his power and blocked the palm technique.

Wham!

Yeon Ho-Jeong retreated more than ten steps.

On the other hand, Yeon-Wi stood firmly in his place.

“Hoo.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his hand and straightened his posture.

“I guess it’s still not enough.”

Yeon-Wi’s eyes wavered.

“Did you perhaps know?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if you were reading my next attack.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong tilted his head.

“That’s not it. I just saw a slight opening that was unlike my father’s martial arts, so I thought it was clearly a weakness and attacked.”

“……!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Swoosh. Thud!

Yeon-Wi sheathed his sword.

“Let’s end the sparring here.”